Republican legislative aide enters Bristol-Norfolk Senate race

Legislative aide Jacob Ventura of Attleboro has announced his candidacy in the special election to replace former Senator James E. Timilty.

Ventura, a 30-year-old lawyer, will run in the Republican primary on Sept. 19. The election will be held Oct. 17.

He is the second Republican in the race. Michael Berry, a former Walpole selectman and school committee member, is also running.

Paul Feeney, a former Foxboro selectman, Ted Philips of Sharon, an aide to Stoughton Rep. Louis Kafka, and former TV reporter Joe Shortsleeve of Medfield are seeking the Democratic nomination.

Candidates have until Aug. 8 to submit nomination papers.

Timilty resigned in April to become Norfolk County treasurer.

Ventura has served for 3½ years as a legislative aide to Seekonk Representative Steven S. Howitt. He said Howitt and Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson have endorsed him.

A member of the Wampanoag Aquinnah Tribe with Portuguese and Cape Verdean heritage, Ventura was born and raised in southeastern Massachusetts. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2009 and from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 2016.